1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of glass object manufacturing and more specifically to an apparatus for blowing glass objects and a method for manufacturing glass objects utilizing the glass blowing apparatus.
2. Background
Glass blowing is an age old practice going back hundreds of years. The method of blowing glass objects requires a glass blowing pipe capable of withstanding extreme heat to the point that sand/silica becomes a molten soup. The headstock of the glass blowing pipe is placed in the crucible containing molten glass, gathering the molten glass on the headstock of the pipe and coating it with molten glass. The hot molten glass adheres to the head stock. The artisan then removes the molten glass from the container and blows it into shape. As the piece is blown, the artisan has to create a weak spot between the head stock and the piece of glass being made. Once the piece is completed, the artisan separates the finished piece from the headstock by breaking the glass at the weak spot. The breaking process makes it easy for the piece to break beyond the weak spot and requiring the artisan to start the process from the beginning and blow a new piece.
The prior art discloses various head stock pieces that can be detached from the glass blowing pipe and which allow the replacement of the head stock without the need to replace the entire pipe. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 233,550; 268,162; 444,160; 976,796; 1,535,168; and 1,570,695. The headstock attachments disclosed in the prior art, however, do not solve the problem that arises from the need to break the glass in order to finish the piece.